What's an Indian Chief Dark Horse?

IT’S been homologated as a stand-alone model and there’s an upcoming launch event for the bike but what exactly is an Indian Dark Horse?

While we haven’t actually seen it yet - apart from this mudguard shot released earlier this week - this isn’t the first time the name has been used and the indications are that the new-generation Dark Horse will follow much the same pattern as its predecessor. What does that mean? In short, matt black paint and a matt black finish where you’d normally expect to see chrome.

The chances are that the new model will be Indian’s equivalent of Ducati’s old ‘Dark’ models - an entry-level version of an existing machine.

In this case, the existing bike will be the Chief Classic, which is the current ‘base’ version of the larger 1811cc Chief range. The Dark Horse will get a black finish on the engine, headlight and forks, and even the wheel rims are likely to be black. The lone teaser photo has already shown that the Indian ‘War Bonnet’ on the front mudguard has also lost its chrome finish. We’d also expect the additional lights either side of the headlamp to be dropped, and the Dark Horse may well also come without a pillion seat as standard.

All will be revealed next week.